'No pay' bus boy handed to police

A SCHOOL bus driver made an unscheduled stop at Great Yarmouth police station after a pupil refused to get off the bus despite being asked to do so.

The driver, working for Yarmouth coach operator Ambassador Travel, handed the teenager over to the police after he refused to leave the bus despite not having a school travel pass and refusing to pay the 50p fare.

A SCHOOL bus driver made an unscheduled stop at Great Yarmouth police station after a pupil refused to get off the bus despite being asked to do so.

The driver, working for Yarmouth coach operator Ambassador Travel, handed the teenager over to the police after he refused to leave the bus despite not having a school travel pass and refusing to pay the 50p fare.

The service, contracted to Norfolk County Council, was on its daily run collecting pupils from the Southtown area of Yarmouth to take them to Cliff Park High School when the incident happened on March 19 at 8.30am.

Mike Pleasants, deputy operations manager at Ambassador Travel, said the driver had acted correctly in accordance with the bus firm's contract with the county.

He said: “If we didn't, the child would get on the bus everyday and say I am not paying and I have not got a pass to take me to school. The conditions of the contract are that the person must produce the travel pass or pay.”

The pass entitles the holder to travel for free, but if they do not have it they must pay the 50p fare.